SC Dismisses Zakia Jafri’s Plea Against Clean Chit To Narendra Modi In 2002 Riots Case: A Timeline Of How It Played Out
New Age Islam News Bureau
25 June 2022
Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. (File)
----
New Age Islam News Bureau
25 June 2022
•Activist Teesta Setalvad Detained A Day After Court Ruling On 2002 Riots
• Litterateurs, Thinkers Urge Karnataka CM to
‘Establish Peace’ In State by ‘Protecting’ Muslims
• Attempts Underway To Increase Presence of
US-Sponsored Takfiri Terrorists in Syria: Report
• In FATF Crosshairs, Pakistan 'Arrests' LeT's 26/11
Plotter Mir after Calling Him Dead
• Hamas Calls for Immediate Halt to Israeli
Excavations at Al-Aqsa Mosque
• US Expects ‘Interesting Things’ On Israel
Normalization during Biden's West Asia Trip
India
• Jamiat factions look to unite to fight against
increasing Islamophobia in India
• After Friday Prayers, Imams Make Appeal from Mosques
in Kanpur Exhorting Youths to Follow Agnipath
• Andhra Pradesh: YSRCP government has cheated
Muslims, alleges TDP State general secretary
• SC dismisses Zakia Jafri plea: ‘Disappointed with
verdict… will decide on future course after returning from Mecca’, says Zakia
son
• Narco-terrorism: Four Lashkar men arrested in Budgam
• 14-year-old detained in Srinagar for terror links,
father also held
• Gujarat HC refuses status quo on alleged conversion
of Dargah, issues notices
--------
Arab
World
• Saudi Arabia Releases Shia Prisoner "Murtaja
Qureiris, Detained when he was only 13, Facing Execution: Rights Group
• Saudi Demolition Plan in Jeddah Violates Human
Rights, Discriminates Against Foreign Nationals
• UAE rushes 30 tons of aid to Afghanistan after
earthquake claims over 1,150 lives
• Dozens of Iraqi lawmakers sworn in after Sadr bloc
resigns from parliament
--------
Pakistan
• Negotiation with terror outfit TTP sparks fear in
Pakistan’s Parliament
• Foes of Islam and Palestine hatching conspiracies
against Pakistan, Jihad-e-Islami
• Peace talks with TTP require Pak House nod
• Pakistan political party holds protests over killing
of four youth activists in North Waziristan tribal region
• PM Shehbaz calls for security of foreign investors
in Balochistan
--------
Mideast
• Member of Islamic-Christian Committee: Palestinian
refugees should return to their land
• Iran, China Vow to Broaden Mutual Cooperation
• Iran: Afghanistan's Assets Should Be Released
without Politicization
• Palestinian teenager killed by Israeli forces in
West Bank: Sources
• Donors pledge $160 million, Palestinian refugees
need more
--------
North
America
• Dozens of Senate lawmakers demand that US probe Abu
Akleh’s murder
• End of US era in Latin America ‘approaching’
--------
Africa
• Mali’s Army Says 50 Extremists ‘Neutralized’
• Jordan’s king says he supports Middle East military alliance
similar to NATO
• Tunisia’s interior ministry confirms threats to
President Saied’s life, foils attack
• Hundreds of migrants storm border separating Spain’s
Melilla enclave from Morocco
• UN rights chief calls for impartial probe into
Ethiopia mass killings
--------
Europe
• Oslo shooting suspect is a Norwegian of Iranian
descent: Police
• Investigation in Sweden related to YPG/PKK terror
group ends over 'lack of evidence'
--------
South
Asia
• One Of Taliban Commanders Joined Ahmad Massoud’s
Forces
• Thousands of quake survivors without food, shelter
in Afghanistan
• UNSC Discusses Afghanistan Ongoing Humanitarian,
Political Crisis
• Taliban thank Pakistan, other friendly countries for
helping quake-hit Afghanistan
• India takes baby steps to dealing with Taliban
--------
Southeast
Asia
• Indonesian police arrest six for 'blasphemy' over
bar promotion
• Motac targets 900,000 Muslim tourists to Malaysia
this year, says minister
• Malaysia running on empty, seeking a Jokowi
Compiled by New
Age Islam News Bureau
URL:
| https://newageislam.com/islamic-world-news/2002-riots-supreme-court-zakia-jafri/d/127325 |
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SC Dismisses Zakia Jafri’s Plea Against
Clean Chit To Narendra Modi In 2002 Riots Case: A Timeline Of How It Played Out
Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress
MP Ehsan Jafri. (File)
----
By: Express Web Desk | New Delhi
June 24, 2022
The Supreme Court Friday dismissed a
plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging
a clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Gujarat
chief minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Ehsan Jafri, a former MP, was among 68
killed at Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, a day after a
coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra, killing 59 people and
triggering riots in the state.
Here’s a timeline of the events:
February 27, 2002
On the morning of February 27, 2002, a
coach of the the Sabarmati Express — Coach S6 — was set ablaze and 59
passengers travelling in that coach were charred to death. The train had
arrived at Godhra station in Gujarat just then. The victims included 27 women
and 10 children. Injuries were suffered by another 48 passengers in the train.
The train burning incident had within
hours triggered violent riots across the state. The riots broke out on the
evening of February 27 and continued for 2-3 months across the state. The
Centre in 2005 informed Rajya Sabha that the riots claimed the lives of 254
Hindus and 790 Muslims. A total 223 people were reported missing. Tens of
thousands were rendered homeless as well. The details were later published at
the recommendation of the National Human Rights Commission.
March 2008
The Supreme Court constituted a Special
Investigation Team to investigate the incident that caused the riots.
June 1, 2009
Trials in the case started over eight
years after the incident on June 1, 2009.
March 1, 2011
A special SIT court convicted 31 people
on March 1, 2011,out of whom 11 were awarded death sentences and 20 life
imprisonment. The court also acquitted 63 people in the case. The SIT court
concurred with the charges of the prosecution that this was not an incident of
unplanned mob outrage and rather it involved conspiracy. The 31 convicts were
convicted under the Indian Penal Code sections related to criminal conspiracy,
murder and attempt to murder.
September 12, 2011
The Supreme Court refused to pass any
order on Narendra Modi’s alleged inaction to contain the 2002 riots and
referred the matter to the concerned magistrate in Ahmedabad for a decision.
February 8, 2012
SIT filed a closure report in the
Supreme Court giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and 63
others, out of which many were senior government officials. The SIT said there
was “no prosecutable evidence” against them.
January 9, 2014
Protest petition by Zakia Jafri against
SIT’s clean chit to Narendra Modi in the 2002 Gujarat communal riots was
rejected by an Ahmedabad court. Jafri said she was not disheartened after the
verdict and would appeal against it.
June 2, 2016
A special SIT court in Ahmedabad on
Thursday convicted 24, including a VHP leader, in the 2002 post-Godhra Gulberg
society massacre, which left 69 people including the former Congress MP dead.
Thirty six others were acquitted.
Zakia Jafri expressed her discontent at
the special court verdict in the Gulberg Society case.
October 5, 2017
The Gujarat High Court upheld the
judgment of a metropolitan court that accepted a clean chit to the then Chief
Minister Narendra Modi and 60 others in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra
riots, and rejected Zakia Jafri’s allegations that the riots were part of a
“larger conspiracy”.
November 19, 2018
In 2018, Zakia Jafri filed a petition in
the Supreme Court challenging the High Court’s October 5, 2017 order rejecting
her plea against the decision of the SIT. The Supreme Court decided to take up
the petition on November 19, 2018. The plea also maintained that after the SIT
gave a clean chit in its closure report before a trial judge, Zakia Jafri filed
a protest petition which was dismissed by the magistrate without considering
“substantiated merits”.
October 26, 2021
The Supreme Court said that it wanted to
see the closure report filed before a Metropolitan Magistrate Court in
Ahmedabad by the SIT, giving a clean chit to then Gujarat Chief Minister
Narendra Modi and 63 others.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal who appeared
for Zakia Jafri, told the Bench, which included Justices Dinesh Maheshwari and
C T Ravikumar, that the SIT and the courts did not look at Jafri’s complaints
and other relevant facts. He submitted that Jafri’s complaint was not limited
to the Gulberg Society violence in which her husband was killed, and the
SC-appointed SIT “ignored” evidence;
October 27, 2021
The Supreme Court-appointed SIT denied
contentions by Zakia Jafri that it had not gone into all the facts related to
the communal incidents, stating that it had “faithfully investigated
everything”.
“We will show you that we have
faithfully investigated everything,” Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing
for the SIT, told a bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar.
November 11, 2021
Zakia Jafri demanded that the Supreme
Court-appointed SIT, which gave a clean chit to then chief minister Narendra
Modi in its closure report, itself “should be investigated”.
Appearing for Jafri, Kapil Sibal told
Supreme Court bench that the “SIT was concluding contrary to facts. In fact
such SITs should be investigated”. Sibal recalled that the SIT was set up
because the National Human Rights Commission moved the SC, saying that the
local police were not investigating properly. But the SIT also did not
investigate as it should have, he said.
November 16, 2021
The Supreme Court asked Zakia Jafri how
she could say the SIT “collaborated” with the accused when the team had filed
chargesheets that ended in convictions in riot-related cases.
“You are attacking the manner of
investigation done by SIT. It is the same SIT that had filed chargesheet in
other cases, and they were convicted. No such grievance in those proceedings,”
the court told Kapil Sibal.
The remarks came when Sibal said there is
“glaring evidence of collaboration. The political class became collaborators.
This is the stark story about collaboration with accused.”
November 24, 2021
The SIT told the top court that it had
not shielded anyone and ruled that “uncharitable” remarks were being made
against it. “We were not shielding anybody,” senior advocate Mukul Rohtagi told
the Supreme Court.
November 25, 2021
The SIT termed as “absurd” the
contention that burning of coach S-6 of Sabarmati Express train that led to the
riots was “orchestrated” by Hindutva groups.
“The allegation is (that) even before
the incident, there were arms pile-up before February 27. It boggles my mind.
Say I am a radical Hindu member of VHP and I am keeping arms on February 25
without knowing the date of the train burning incident, that makes no sense…”
senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi told the Supreme Court.
“Or you are saying this train burning
was also orchestrated? That can’t be (true), because the train was delayed by
five hours and was only going to stop for two minutes,” he submitted. “They
could not have known…It’s absurd. There is a limit to what is being said here.”
December 8, 2021
Zakia Jafri told Supreme Court that she
had not spoken about her allegations of a larger conspiracy behind the riots
while deposing in the trial of the Gulberg Society killings case, as she was
only a prosecution witness and not complainant in that case.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who
appeared for Jafri, told a bench that being a prosecution witness, she had to
confine her statements to what she knew about the particular case.
“She appeared as a prosecution witness
in 2010…. She was not a complainant in the Gulberg trial and was required to
give evidence only regarding what was needed to be proved…” Sibal said.
December 9, 2021
The Supreme Court had reserved its order
on the appeal on December 9, 2021 after hearing all sides.
June 24, 2022
The Supreme Court dismissed the appeal
by Zakia Jafri challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation
Team (SIT) to Prime Minister Narendra Modi — who was then chief minister of the
state — and others in connection with the riot-related cases in Gujarat.
The SC bench upheld the decision of the
Ahmedabad metropolitan magistrate to accept the closure report submitted by the
SIT – which was appointed by the top court – and reject the protest petition
filed by Jafri against accepting the report.
The Supreme Court held that Zakia’s
appeal was “devoid of merits and deserves to be dismissed”.
https://indianexpress.com/article/india/sc-zakia-jafri-plea-clean-chit-narendra-modi-timeline-7987980/
----
Activist Teesta Setalvad Detained A Day After Court Ruling On 2002 Riots
Activist Teesta Setalvad
-----
Reported by Sukirti Dwivedi, Edited by
Divyanshu Dutta Roy
June 25, 2022
Mumbai/New Delhi: Activist Teesta
Setalvad was taken into custody by the Gujarat Police's Anti-Terrorism Squad
from Mumbai on Saturday, a day after the Supreme Court lashed out at those who
had "kept the pot boiling" on the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A complaint filed this morning by the
Gujarat Police against her, seen by NDTV, cited the strongly-worded Supreme
Court judgment that included allusions to Ms Setalvad's NGO which has worked
extensively with the victims of the riots.
The activist has been accused of forgery
and falsification of records among other charges in the complaint that also
names former police officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, who too had accused
the Gujarat government of preventing the police from stopping the riots.
Ms Setalvad was a co-petitioner in the
case that was dismissed by the Supreme Court on Friday that challenged Prime
Minister Narendra Modi's exoneration. Zakia Jafri, wife of Congress MP Ehsan
Jafri who was killed in the riots, was the main petitioner.
Upholding the clearance to PM Modi, then
Chief Minister of the Gujarat, by a court-appointed Special Investigation Team
or SIT, the Supreme Court said the case was "devoid of merits" and
was filed "obviously, for ulterior design".
"All those involved in such abuse
of process need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with
law," the judges said, surmising that Ms Jafri's appeal was filed under
"dictation of someone".
In the past, after PM Modi came to power
at the centre, Ms Setalvad has had run-ins with the CBI and Gujarat Police,
over allegations of financial misappropriation at her NGO.
Ms Setalvad's detention came hours after
Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in an interview to news agency ANI, said that Ms
Setalvad gave baseless information about the Gujarat riots and helped run a
campaign to stain PM Modi's image.
"I have read the judgement very
carefully. The judgement clearly mentions the name of Teesta Setalvad. The NGO
that was being run by her - I don't remember the name of the NGO - had given
baseless information about the riots to the police," Mr Shah said.
https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/activist-teesta-setalvad-detained-by-gujarat-anti-terrorism-squad-in-mumbai-3099862#pfrom=home-ndtv_topscroll
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Litterateurs, Thinkers Urge Karnataka CM to ‘Establish
Peace’ In State by ‘Protecting’ Muslims
Karnataka chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai
-----
June 25, 2022
In a setback to ruling BJP government, litterateurs,
thinkers have written an open letter to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai urging
him to “establish peace in Karnataka by protecting Muslims”.
Chief Minister Bommai should have “assured protection”
of Muslims in the state who are being “targeted by communal forces” again and
again, the letter stated, adding “The Chief Minister should have stated that
Ramzan festival will be celebrated on lines with the Basavana Jayanthi. Then it
would have touched hearts.”
The litterateurs maintained that they had tried to
meet him and submit the memorandum since over a month, and they were not able
to meet him. “Hence, it is decided to release the open letter. We have thought
that it is duty to being the concerns and recommendations to bring it to your
notice,” the letter said.
“It is demanded that the police should be directed to
work as per the objectives of the Constitution. The victims of communal forces
should be getting justice, witnesses should be protected and assured of
protection,” it added.
Going forward, the litterateurs suggested that in case
of communal violence, arson, and deaths, there should be action on respective
DC, district administration, police officers.
“Online and social media campaign against minorities
should be monitored and controlled. The government should be vocal about
condemning it and initiate action,” they urged.
As many as 75 litterateurs and thinkers including film
maker Girish Kasaravalli, singer M.D. Pallavi, writers Vaidehi, B. Suresh, H.S.
Anupama, Dr Tejaswini Niranjan and Nanjaraj Urs have expressed their concerns
in the letter.
Source: The Statesman
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Attempts Underway To Increase Presence of US-Sponsored
Takfiri Terrorists in Syria: Report
This file picture shows the US-backed so-called
Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists training in the strategic al-Tanf region of
southeastern Syria, near the borders of Iraq and Jordan. (Photo via Twitter)
-----
23 June 2022
Attempts are reportedly underway in order to expand
the presence of Washington-allied Takfiri terrorists, who are currently
stationed in southeastern Syria, and deploy them in areas where American
occupation forces are located in northeastern Syria.
According to a report published by Lebanon’s
Arabic-language al-Mayadeen television news network, the camps of the US-backed
so-called Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in the strategic al-Tanf region, near
the borders of Iraq and Jordan, have witnessed heightened activities over the
past days, and the extremists are participating in live-fire exercises in an
area around the Tanf base, which is known as the 55 km area, under the
supervision of the US-led military coalition purportedly formed to fight the
Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.
The report added that the activities are ongoing amid
reports that the US military is trying to increase the presence of Maghawir
al-Thawra terrorists and other allied Takfiris, and dispatch them to areas in
the northern and eastern parts of Syria which are under the control of the
militants from the Kurdish-led and so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Al-Mayadeen went on to note that the chief commander
of Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists visited Saudi Arabia about two weeks ago, and
met with a number of officials there.
Groups of the militants have lately arrived in Syria’s
northeastern province of Hasakah, and been deployed in the al-Zohour neighbourhood
of Hasakah city as well as a village in the southern flank of the province.
Al-Mayadeen added that the US-led coalition is seeking
to expand the presence of Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in the areas controlled
by the SDF in an attempt to ensure that Syrian government forces would not
wrest control over oil fields in Syria’s eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr if
SDF forces had to withdraw in the face of any new Turkish offensive.
The report comes less than a week after Russia warned
American occupation forces that it was going to conduct airstrikes against
Maghawir al-Thawra terrorists in al-Tanf region after a roadside bomb targeted
Russian military forces.
Two unnamed US defence officials were quoted as saying
by CNN that the warning, which came earlier this month, prompted the US to
quickly call on the militants to move their positions and to ensure that no
American forces were in close proximity.
Last month, the foreign intelligence service of the
Russian Federation (SVR RF) said US occupation forces deployed in Syria’s
al-Tanf region were providing military support to Daesh terrorists and training
them for field operations in Ukraine.
According to a report published by Russia’s
Arabic-language RT Arabic television news network, approximately 500 Daesh
terrorists and militants from the Caucasus and Central Asian countries were
undergoing training at the camp to carry out acts of sabotage and terrorist attacks
against units of the Russian armed forces, both inside Syria and in the east
European country.
A number of captured Daesh terrorists have already
confessed to close cooperation with US military forces stationed at al-Tanf
base in the central Syrian province of Homs in carrying out various acts of
terror and sabotage.
During confessions broadcast on Syria’s state-run
television network in May 2020, several terrorists revealed that they were
instructed by American forces to target Syrian government troops in and around
the ancient city of Palmyra, the Tiyas Military Airbase – also known as the T-4
Airbase, the Shaer gas field as well as nearby oil wells.
Source: Press TV
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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In FATF crosshairs, Pakistan 'arrests' LeT's 26/11 Plotter
Mir After Calling Him Dead
Mir is on the FBI’s list
of most-wanted terrorists
-----
Jun 25, 2022
NEW DELHI: At first, he didn't exist. Then he was
declared dead. But 14 years after he and his team plotted the 26/11 attack in
Mumbai, Pakistan seems to have "arrested" global terrorist and LeT Commander
Sajid Mir, who is probably in his late 40s and carries an FBI bounty of $5
million on his head.
The development is seen as a desperate attempt by
Pakistan to get out of the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force. Mir is
wanted by the US government and the next possible course of action seems his
extradition and trial on American soil. At least six US citizens were killed in
the 26/11 attacks.
FBI describes Mir as someone who once wore a beard and
hair down to his shoulders. He, it says, may have altered his appearance and
holds him responsible for directing preparations and reconnaissance and being
one of the Pakistan-based controllers during the 26/11 attacks.
He was the banned LeT's foreign recruiter and the main
handler for American terrorist David Coleman Headley alias Dawood Gilani.
A US justice department document mentions how the
26/11 attackers were in real-time telephonic contact with Mir and his
associates Abu Qahafa and Mazhar Iqbal during the attack. "During the
course of the attacks, terrorists were advised to, among other actions, kill
hostages, set fires, and throw grenades," the document says.
On Mir's advice, Headley, then based in Pennsylvania,
changed his name from "Dawood Gilani" to "David Coleman
Headley" in order to facilitate his activities on behalf of Lashkar by
enabling him to present himself in India as an American, who was neither Muslim
nor Pakistani. Mir also advised Headley to open an immigration office in Mumbai
as a cover for his surveillance activities and was given $25,000 for the setup.
In September 2006, Mir and ISI's Major Iqbal
instructed Headley to get settled in India, and take photographs of various
locations of public significance in India, including the Taj Mahal hotel in
Mumbai.
Source: Times Of India
Please click the following URL to read the text of the
original story:
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Hamas
Calls for Immediate Halt to Israeli Excavations at al-Aqsa Mosque
A
general view shows the Dome of Rock mosque in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa
Mosque compound on April 18, 2022 [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images]
------
June
25, 2022
The
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has taken strong exception to Israeli
excavations at the al-Aqsa Mosque compound in the occupied Old City of al-Quds,
calling for an immediate halt to it.
In
a statement on Thursday, the Gaza-based resistance movement said the excavation
work in the vicinity of the al-Aqsa Mosque poses a serious threat to the mosque
compound.
“The
continued excavations being carried out by the Zionist occupation authorities
in the areas of the Buraq Wall (also known as the Western Wall) and Umayyad
Palace pose a direct threat to the foundations and walls of the sacred al-Aqsa
Mosque, and are an attempt to obliterate the Islamic and historical identities
of the city of al-Quds,” read the statement.
It
further warned the apartheid regime of full responsibility for “repercussions
of such serious violations”, while seeking the intervention of global
organizations.
“We
call on the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and the Kingdom
of Jordan which has the custodianship of the al-Aqsa Mosque to urgently stop
these malicious colonial schemes and protect al-Quds and al-Aqsa Mosque.”
In
recent months, Hamas has repeatedly warned that any Israeli attempt to seize
al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied Old City of al-Quds will have “damaging
consequences” for Tel Aviv.
Earlier
this month, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said Israel has failed
to establish any historical link with the city of Jerusalem al-Quds despite
continuous excavations of sacred sites there.
“Fifty-five
years of excavations and tunnel digging did not prove that there is a temple in
the city,” Shtayyeh told a conference titled ‘Property Documentation and the
Historical Status of the Holy Al-Aqsa Mosque’ in the central West Bank city of
al-Bireh on June 8.
He
emphasized the importance of such conferences to strengthen the Palestinian
narrative and thwart the Tel Aviv regime’s systematic distortion of facts and
attempts to disguise the Arab, Muslim and Christian identities of the city.
The
al-Aqsa Mosque compound, which sits just above the Western Wall plaza, houses
both the Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa Mosque.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
--------
US Expects
‘Interesting Things’ On Israel Normalization During Biden's West Asia Trip
President
Joe Biden
----
24
June 2022
The
United States expects more Arab states to make moves to normalize their ties
with the Israeli regime during the forthcoming visit of President Joe Biden to
the West Asia region.
Barbara
Leaf, the top US diplomat for Middle East affairs, at a congressional hearing
on Thursday said Biden’s visit could bring new developments pertaining to the
so-called Abraham Accords as Washington continues to bat for greater
cooperation between Israel and the Arab states.
"We
are working in the space that is not in the public domain with a couple of
other countries," Leaf told lawmakers. "I think you will see some
interesting things around the time of the president's visit."
She
stopped short of naming any countries on being asked to elaborate, declaring
that she “wouldn't want to step on the president's toes.”
The
senior US official claimed that the United Arab Emirates-Israel relationship
was “going like gangbusters" but that the Biden administration also wanted
to encourage broader cooperation.
The
UAE, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco in 2020 became the first Arab countries in
decades to normalize relations with Israel in a deal brokered by former US
President Donald Trump.
Saudi
Arabia is yet to jump on the bandwagon, but the two sides have seen growing
contacts and de-facto rapprochement in recent years, despite claims that it is
committed to the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which conditions normalizing ties
with Israel on the establishment of an independent, sovereign Palestinian state
within the 1967 borders.
The
kingdom in November 2020 granted permission for Israeli airlines to use its
airspace, hours before the first Israeli flight to the United Arab Emirates was
set to take off.
Palestinian
leaders, activists and ordinary people have repeatedly rejected Arab-Israeli
normalization deals as “a stab in the back of the Palestinian cause and the
Palestinian people”.
The
speculation is rife that Biden will be aggressively pushing for normalization
between Riyadh and Tel Aviv during his trip to the region between July 13 and
16.
The
US president is scheduled to meet Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman and
other regional leaders during the high-profile visit, his first to Saudi Arabia
since becoming the president last year.
The
American news website Axios on Thursday reported that White House has been
working on a "roadmap for normalization" between Saudi Arabia and
Israel ahead of Biden's visit.
However,
the report said the Biden administration thinks that any roadmap for
normalization will take time and will be a long-term process.
US
‘antisemitism envoy’ to visit Saudi Arabia in first trip abroad
Meanwhile,
the US State Department announced on Thursday that Deborah Lipstadt, the US
special envoy to combat anti-Semitism, is set to travel to West Asia later this
week as part of attempts to promote Israel normalization.
It
said Lipstadt would visit Israel, Saudi Arabia and the UAE during the trip,
which begins on Sunday, ahead of Biden’s visit to the region.
"Lipstadt
intends to build on the profoundly important Abraham Accords to advance
religious tolerance, improve relations in the region, and counter
misunderstanding and distrust," the State Department said in a statement.
Speaking
to reporters earlier on Thursday, Lipstadt called Saudi Arabia a "very
important country" that had "shown a willingness and openness to
hosting me."
Lipstadt
said she planned to meet with government ministers and civil society leaders
while in the kingdom, although she did not share details of those she would
meet.
Earlier
this year, the Holocaust historian and staunch Israel supporter slammed an
Amnesty International report that accused Israel of practicing apartheid
against Palestinians.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/24/684444/US-Barbara-Leaf-normalize-relations-Joe-Biden-visit
--------
India
Jamiat factions look to unite to fight against increasing Islamophobia in India
25th
June 2022
The
two factions of the powerful Muslim religious organisation Jamiat Ulama-i-Hind
(JUH), which are both led by Deobandi clerics, are attempting to reconcile
fourteen years after the JUH split.
In
2008, the division occurred because members of its working committee raised
questions about the way the leader at the time, Maulana Arshad Madani, ran the
organisation’s operations. Arshad Madani took over from his brother Maulana
Asad Madani, who used to run the organisation for 41 years. As the organisation
was facing troubles, Arshad Madani formed his separate Jamiat organisation by
the same name.
Meanwhile,
Asad Madani’s son, Maulana Mahmood Madani, took control of the other part of
JUH, first as its general secretary and then as its president.
And
now, with the growing hate and intolerance against Muslims, the opposing
factions are planning on uniting to strengthen the organisation, according to a
report by The Indian Express. The Jamiat is one of the most significant Muslim
communities assets having 1.5 crore followers and members.
“The
split took place because, at the time, the president’s functioning was not
acceptable to the organization. There had been objections made by members of
the working committee. It was purely an organisational matter and not an
ideological one,” the sources said in the report.
On
the 28th of last month, the Mahmood Madani faction invited Arshad Madani to attend
the annual general body meeting in Deoband. 2000 members from around the world
attended the meeting. The sources informed that the main reason for the invite
was to check if there was any possibility of them being united and
strengthened. A massive campaign, “Sadhbhavna Sansads”, has been in the plans
of JUH to launch across India.
In
the meeting, Arshad Madani gained massive acceptance with his speech. He said,
“When I spoke at the meeting, I said that in the near future, there will come a
day when this Maidan will house all members from both factions unitedly.” This
statement received a tremendous welcome from the members. So, we felt that the
merger could happen. We held our working committee meeting on Saturday (June
18) and passed a resolution in favour of a merger.”
He
went on to add, “The Jamiat has an over 100-year-old history. At a time when
partition was happening, and a section of Muslims propounded the idea that
Hindus and Muslims could not live together, we remained. Our logic was that the
two communities had lived together for thousands of years, so what was the
reasoning behind a separate nation for Muslims? Today, a similar theory is
being propounded by a section of Hindus who are spreading division and hatred.
And this communal stance is being fostered by the present government. At this
juncture, the Jamiat needs to come together so our voice can be stronger.”
Arshad
also stated that Islamophobia in the country is increasing and it is crucial
for the leaders to come together and “fight discrimination against Muslims
together.”
To
end this, the JUH plans to bring together leaders from other Muslim communities
as well as non-religious leaders and thinkers. In its resolution, the JUH
highlighted the “anti-Muslim and anti-Islamic propaganda in the country’’.
Source:
Siasat Daily
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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After
Friday prayers, Imams make appeal from mosques in Kanpur exhorting youths to
follow Agnipath
Jun
24, 2022
KANPUR:
A group of clerics and Muslim intellectuals in Kanpur made an appeal before and
after Friday prayers asking community youths to apply for the newly launched
Agnipath scheme and to utilize the opportunity and serve the country by joining
the defence forces. The appeal was made from the majority of the mosques in the
city.
The
initiative has been started under the banner of Association of Muslim
Professionals (AMP) that works for the cause of education for Muslim children.
Maulana
Meraj Ashrafi, Imam of Nanpara Mosque at Yateem Khana crossing, said that the
youngsters should apply for the Agnipath scheme. “This is a good opportunity
which involves not only employment but also an opportunity to serve the
country,” said Ashrafi.
“This
is a good initiative of the government. On Friday, we asked people to grab the
opportunity and get their eligible children to apply for the scheme,” said Qari
Idrees, a cleric at a mosque in Chaubeypur.
After
Friday prayers at Nanpara mosques, general secretary of All India Sunni Ulema
Council Haji Mohammad Salees said that the community youth between 17 and 23
years should go ahead and apply for the Agnipath scheme and not indulge in any
kind of controversy.
“Even
though the employment under the scheme is for four years, many opportunities
are open even after this. They should apply for jobs in the Agnipath scheme and
become Agniveers and serve the nation by securing borders of the country,” he
said.
Haji
Mohammad Salees told TOI, “We have been appealing to Muslim youths because the
scheme will also bring a discipline among them and also make them trained
professionals. We had spoken to Imams of many mosques, from where the appeal
was made before and after Friday prayers today. The promotional campaign will
continue.”
“All
India Sunni Ulema Council has lakhs of members all over the country. Besides, a
large number of clerics are associated with the council. So, this appeal will
definitely prove to be a boon for Agnipath,” Salees said.
Last
week, violence marred several states, including Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana, while peaceful agitations were held in several
places against the scheme.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Andhra
Pradesh: YSRCP government has cheated Muslims, alleges TDP State general
secretary
JUNE
24, 2022
Telugu
Desam Party (TDP) State general secretary Md. Nazeer has alleged that the YSR
Congress Party government has cheated the Muslim community by promising to
double the benefits under various schemes given to minorities but failing to
implement them.
Addressing
a media conference here on Friday, Mr. Nazeer said that a private person had
filed a petition in the High Court yesterday saying that grave injustice was
being done to Muslims under the YSR Congress Party government. The Judge was
shocked by the reply of the government pleader that the State government has no
money to run welfare schemes. The Judge sought a written affidavit to that
effect, Mr. Nazeer said.
The
TDP leader recalled that during his padayatra before the general elections, Mr.
Jagan Mohan Reddy had held a meeting of Muslim and Christian minorities in
Visakhapatnam city and promised to enhance the amount under ‘Dulhan scheme’,
under which the Chandrababu Naidu government was extending ₹50,000 to meet the
wedding expenses of Muslim girls, to ₹1 lakh, if his party was voted to power.
Source:
The Hindu
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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SC
dismisses Zakia Jafri plea: ‘Disappointed with verdict… will decide on future
course after returning from Mecca’, says Zakia son
by
Kamal Saiyed
June
25, 2022
Tanveer
Jafri, the son of the Gulberg society massacre survivor Zakia Jafri, expressed
disappointment Friday with the Supreme Court verdict that upheld the clean chit
to the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and 63 others in the 2002
riots.
A
bench presided over by Justice A M Khanwilkar upheld the decision of the
Ahmedabad Metropolitan Magistrate to accept the closure report of the Special
Investigation Team (SIT) — which was appointed by the top court — rejecting the
protest petition filed by Zakia.
Tanveer,
who is in Mecca for the Haj pilgrimage, told The Indian Express: “I am
disappointed with the top court’s order delivered today. I also had a talk with
her (his mother) about the order and she said she had full faith in the
Almighty. I will also pray so that we get justice.”
Tanveer,
who resides in Surat, said he was handling the legal battle as his 82-year old
mother had a hearing problem and could not stand or walk for extended periods.
Zakia
was at a relative’s place “outside Gujarat”, he added.
“I
was praying at Haram-sharif (near Kabatulla), when my friend called and
informed me about the order. I have gone through the primary details and found
that it has over 450 pages. I will need time to go through it,” said Tanveer,
adding that he said he would decide on a course of action after returning.
Zakia’s
husband Ahsan Jafri, a Congress MP, was among the 69 people killed in the
massacre on February 28, 2002.
The
SIT formed by the Supreme Court had submitted a closure report in 2012 giving a
clean chit to then chief minister Narendra Modi after a preliminary
investigation into the complaint filed by Zakia against Modi and 63 others
including bureaucrats and policemen. It said there was no prosecutable evidence
against them.
The
Metropolitan Magistrate’s court, where the complaint had been filed, endorsed
the clean chit.
Source:
Indian Express
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Narco-terrorism:
Four Lashkar men arrested in Budgam
Jun
25, 2022
SRINAGAR:
J&K Police on Friday busted a narco-terrorism funding module with the
arrest of four Lashkar-e-Taiba associates from central Kashmir’s Budgam
district. Preliminary investigation revealed that the Lashkar affiliates were
involved in providing logistic support to the outfit by distributing proceeds
of narcotics sale to active terrorists and other Lashkar operatives.
A
joint team of the Army’s 53RR, CRPF’s 181Bn and police made the arrests and
seized “three grenades, two AK magazines, 65 rounds of AK-47 ammunition along
with other incriminating items and explosive substances” from the four, police
said in a statement. Those arrested were identified as Younis Manzoor, Mehboob
Ahmed, Irshad Ahmad Ganie and Muzaffar Ahmad, all Budgam residents.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
14-year-old
detained in Srinagar for terror links, father also held
Jun
25, 2022
SRINAGAR:
A 14-year-old Class IX student and his father were detained and their home in
Srinagar searched for the boy's alleged terrorist links as the NIA conducted
multiple searches in eight locations of J&K in connection with
terrorism-related cases, official sources said on Friday.
The
sources said mobile phones of the boy and his parents were seized by the NIA
team during the search of their home in Kani Mazar Nawakadal, downtown
Srinagar. His 47-year-old father is a driver by profession. Both were detained
for questioning.
NIA
sleuths with police and CRPF men carried out searches in Anantnag, Baramulla,
Budgam, Bandipora, Pulwama, Sopore, and Kathua.
Source:
Times Of India
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Gujarat
HC refuses status quo on alleged conversion of dargah, issues notices
Jun
25, 2022
The
Gujarat high court on Friday issued notices to the state government, Ahmedabad
district collector and other respondents in connection with a petition filed by
a Muslim organisation against the alleged conversion of 600-year-old Pir Imam
Shah Bawa Dargah on the outskirts of Ahmedabad to Hindu religious places.
The
court did not accept the petitioner’s plea for ordering a status quo that would
halt the ongoing construction activity in the compound area of the mosque.
The
petition is filed by Sunni Awami Forum through its trustee Usman Haji Ahmed
Qureshi, who has invoked the Places of Worship Act, 1991. It is the same Act
which has been invoked in cases pertaining to the Gyanvapi Masjid in Varanasi,
the Shahi Idgah Masjid in Mathura and the Quwat-e-Islam Masjid in Delhi.
Senior
counsel Mihir Joshi, who appeared for Qureshi, submitted that the shrine has
been undergoing rapid changes and unless a status quo is ordered, the nature of
the place of worship would change.
The
court has given time till August 8 for respondents to file their replies. Joshi
sought a shorter duration as a lot of construction activity could be carried
out by then.
The
petitioner has also made Imamshah Bawa Roza Trust, Ahmedabad deputy collector,
mamlatdar, district superintendent of police and police inspector of Aslali
police station as respondents in the case.
“The
Dargah is now converted into a temple with idol being installed. It is to be
noted in the dargah premises there is no such place for idols,” said the
petition. Thus, the soul and essence of the dargah or Trust property has been
replaced with a temple or in other words the dragah is converted into temple,
it alleged adding that it was contrary to the scheme of the Trust and
provisions of the Places of Worship Act.
Manisha
Lavkumar Shah, the government pleader in the case, said that they have received
the notice and have time till August 8 to file their response. She declined to
comment on the matter. Senior counsel Joshi declined to speak on the matter.
The
history of the Pirana shrine has in the past been seen as an example of
communal harmony, with a large number of Imamshah Bawa devotees being Hindus,
who identified themselves as ‘Satpanthi’.
The
Sathpanthi are elected from the categories of “Sathpanth” and therefore, being
majority in the committee, they are managing the Imamshah Bawa Roza Trust with
sole motive to deprive Saiyed and other Muslims from performing religious rites
and rituals and portraying Pir Imamshah Bawa as the Hindu saint, the petition
alleged.
The
Trust started construction of a temple in the compound of the dargah adjacent
to the Roza of Pir Imamshah Bawa on May 10, 2022. The petitioner along with
Saiyed Trustees of Trust and Imamshahi Sadat Committee made representations to
the Ahmedabad district collector and police superintendent requesting to stop
illegal construction of the temple but no steps were taken in this direction, it
alleged.
The
Muslim trustees and devotees have lately been alleging imposition of the Hindu
faith. They alleged that idols of Dashavatar were installed outside the shrine
earlier this year and now a temple is being constructed in the area. They
demanded videography of the complex to assess the situation and the appointment
of a commission to draw up a Panchnama to get the current situation on record.
On
January 30, 2022 about 200 labourers along with huge police force came to the
Trust and started construction of a wall in the compound, dividing the
dargah,qabrastan and masjid.
Source:
Hindustan Times
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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Arab
World
Saudi
Arabia Releases Shia Prisoner "Murtaja Qureiris, Detained when he was only
13, Facing Execution: Rights Group
24
June, 2022
Saudi
authorities have released a member of the country's Shia minority who was
arrested at age 13 and had risked the death penalty, a human rights group said
on Friday.
"Murtaja
Qureiris, detained since 2014 when he was only 13, has been released following
the expiry of his sentence," ALQST for Human Rights said on Twitter.
"Qureiris
had been at risk of the death penalty, and was later sentenced to eight years
on charges including participating in protests at the age of 10," the
London-based group added.
It
said he "should never have been arrested".
Amnesty
International in the Gulf said it was "happy" for Qureiris and his
family.
Saudi
Arabia has released several young Shia men in recent months, including Ali
al-Nimr, who was arrested as a minor in 2012 for taking part in anti-government
protests and received a death sentence that was later commuted.
Nimr
is a nephew of Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who was executed by Saudi Arabia in
2016, leading to the severance of diplomatic relations between Riyadh and
Tehran.
Saudi
Arabia in recent years has announced a series of reforms to sentencing by the
courts, including a moratorium on the death penalty for drug offences, as well
as abolishing court-ordered floggings.
In
April 2020, the kingdom announced it was ending the death penalty for those
convicted of crimes committed when they were under 18.
But
the wealthy Gulf country has one of the world's highest execution rates.
Source:
The New Arab
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alaraby.co.uk/news/saudi-releases-young-shia-prisoner-who-faced-execution
--------
Saudi
demolition plan in Jeddah violates human rights, discriminates against foreign
nationals
23
June 2022
International
human rights organizations have criticized Saudi authorities for their forced
evictions and demolitions in the strategic Red Sea port city of Jeddah, saying
that the plans discriminate against foreign nationals and violate international
human rights standards.
According
to the rights groups, Saudi officials have evicted hundreds of thousands of
residents from their homes in the city between the end of 2021 and the start of
2022, as part of the latest ambitious project of the kingdom’s Crown Prince and
defacto ruler Mohammed bin Salman, known as Vision 2030.
A
review of municipality documents has found that more than 558,000 residents
were affected as a result.
While
a compensation scheme was announced by local authorities, the plan excluded
foreign nationals who make up 47 percent of those evicted.
According
to the London-based rights group ALQST, an independent non-governmental
organization advocating human rights in Saudi Arabia, evicted residents had
been living in their homes for up to 60 years.
Some
were driven out when their power and water were cut off, or threatened with
jail for disobeying an eviction order, it added.
A
resident of Jeddah’s southern neighborhood of Galil, which saw the first
demolitions last October, said security forces had confiscated mobile phones to
prevent footage from getting out.
“We
were suddenly expelled from our homes overnight and without warning,” said the
man, who gave his name as Fahd.
Saudi
officials have asserted that the kingdom will compensate families for their
losses and announced in February that the government would complete 5,000 replacement
housing units by the end of the year.
Source:
Press TV
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UAE
rushes 30 tons of aid to Afghanistan after earthquake claims over 1,150 lives
24 June,
2022
The
UAE has sent 30 tons of aid to Afghanistan, the Emirates News Agency WAM
reported on Friday, following a deadly earthquake that is estimated to have
killed 1,150.
The
aid reportedly consisted of food supplies and was sent under the directive of
the UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to supervise an air bridge
for the victims.
The
task was undertaken by the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation and the
Emirates Red Crescent, in coordination with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
WAM reported.
Dr.
Mohamed Ayoya, a UNICEF representative in Afghanistan, said his agency has
deployed medical experts and hygiene supplies to support surviving families in
an account to the Associated Press.
He
said that with a damaged water system and an existing outbreak of diarrhea,
cholera is a real concern for those left homeless. Ayoya made those comments as
an aftershock took more lives on Friday.
Afghanistan's
economy had been reliant on international donor support and aid even before the
Taliban seized power last August as the US and its NATO allies withdrew their
forces, ending a 20-year war.
Aid
groups still operating in Afghanistan are now scrambling to get medical
supplies, food and tents to the remote quake-struck area, but UN agencies are
facing a $3 billion funding shortfall this year.
Trucks
of food and other necessities arrived from Pakistan, and planes full of
humanitarian aid also landed from Iran and Qatar.
India
sent a technical team to the capital, Kabul, to coordinate the delivery of
humanitarian assistance. India said its aid would be handed over to a UN agency
on the ground and to the Afghan Red Crescent Society.
Other
countries that have offered aid were at pains to underscore that they would
work only through UN agencies, not with the Taliban, which no government has
officially recognized.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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Dozens
of Iraqi lawmakers sworn in after Sadr bloc resigns from parliament
23
June 2022
Iraq’s
parliament has sworn in dozens of new lawmakers to replace a bloc loyal to Shia
cleric Moqtada al-Sadr.
According
to the assembly’s media office, 64 new members of parliament were sworn in on
Thursday, while nine seats still remain vacant in the assembly.
Shia
lawmaker Ahmed Rubaie said the new coalition was now the main force in the
329-seat parliament.
“Following
the Sadr lawmakers’ resignation, we can confirm that we are the largest bloc in
parliament with around 130 seats after the swearing in of the new lawmakers,”
Rubaie told reporters.
The
development came on the heels of mass resignation of 73 Sadrist
parliamentarians two weeks ago after months of stalemate over forming a new
government, nearly eight months after parliamentary elections.
Sadr
called the en bloc resignation “a sacrifice made towards emancipation of the
nation from an ambiguous fate,” referring to the impasse.
Members
of the movement then handed in their resignations in al-Hannana, the
headquarters of the political party in the holy shrine city of Najaf.
“The
country’s reform will only take place with a national majority government,”
Sadr said in a televised statement, adding, “If the survival of the Sadr bloc
is an obstacle to the formation of the government, then all representatives of
the bloc are ready to resign from parliament.”
“Iraq
needs a government backed by a majority that serves the people,” the prominent
cleric said.
Sadr’s
party was the biggest winner in the October general elections and was expected
to sideline other rivals who had dominated politics in Iraq for years. However,
the existing political disagreement among parties impeded parliament from
electing a president.
On
June 12, Iraq’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi accepted mass
resignation of lawmakers faithful to Sadr.
"We
have reluctantly accepted the requests of our brothers and sisters,
representatives of the Sadr bloc, to resign," al-Halbousi tweeted.
Source:
Press TV
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Pakistan
Negotiation
with terror outfit TTP sparks fear in Pakistan’s Parliament
25
June, 2022
Islamabad
[Pakistan], June 25 (ANI): Pakistan government’s negotiations with the
proscribed outfit Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has created fear in the
Upper House of its Parliament.
The
parliamentarians on Thursday noted that lawmakers were unaware when the
negotiations began and between whom were they taking place, reported The
Frontier Post.
They
demanded clarity from the government over the matter. The outlawed TTP that
overlooks the country’s national security briefed an important meeting a day
earlier at the Prime Minister’s Office, with high-level political leadership in
presence.
In
Thursday’s session of the Upper House of the Parliament, Jamaat-e-Islami (JI)
member Mushtaq Ahmed said a session on negotiation with the TTP took place at
the PM’s Office yesterday in which representatives of some political parties
were present but not everyone was invited.
“This
session took decisions related to the talks with TTP. Therefore, there should
be clarity and the house should be informed that which committee’s session was
it?” Ahmed questioned.
The
parliament member said that if the session was of the Parliamentary Committee
on National Security (PCNS) then he is a member of it and he was not invited to
the meeting.
“Was
this a session of a parliamentary committee? If not, then where does the
Parliament stand on this matter?” the JI senator wondered. Senator Ahmed added
that the government has said that it will brief the Parliament on the
negotiations. “What will be the use of it once the (state) finalises it
themselves?”
Following
the meeting, the PM’s Office said all negotiations with the TTP will be held as
per the Constitution and Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah assured that an
in-camera session of the Parliament will be called to take lawmakers into
confidence regarding the decisions related to national security, reported The
Frontier Post.
Ahmed
slammed the government and asked it whether the Parliament was a mere “rubber
stamp”. For his part, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) member Raza Rabbani, whose
party is a major stakeholder in the coalition government, said the Parliament
is “always used as a rubber stamp”.
Rabbani
said an in-camera session of the Parliament should be called to inform
lawmakers about the terms and conditions of the negotiations with the TTP,
reported The Frontier Post.
“I
am surprised that we can speak to the TTP, but production orders for Ali Wazir,
a member of the Parliament, could not be issued so far despite several
requests,” Rabbani added.
In
response, Azam Nazeer Tarar, who is the Law Minister and a member of the
Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz (PML-N) which is the biggest stakeholder in the
government, said that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has made it clear that
negotiations will be in line with the Constitution.
Source:
The Print
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Foes
of Islam and Palestine hatching conspiracies against Pakistan, Jihad-e-Islami
June
25, 2022
Abu
Sharif, a prominent leader of the Islamic Resistance Movement in occupied
Palestine named Jihad-e-Islami, has said that anti-Islam and anti-Palestine
forces hatching conspiracies against Pakistan, defending the rights of the
Palestinian nation and freedom of Al-Quds, are the prime responsibilities of
Jihad-e-Islami Palestine.
He
said this during a meeting with the Secretary-General of Palestine Foundation,
Dr. Sabir Abu Maryam.
Source:
ABNA24
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Peace
talks with TTP require Pak House nod
Jun
25, 2022
ISLAMABAD:
Seeking a constitutional cover for murkier talks with the outlawed
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Pakistan's military establishment has engaged
the civilian government for formal conclusion of an agreement with militants
through parliament's approval. Except for TTP's indefinite ceasefire and
release of the group's members by Pakistan's security forces, the negotiators
have not yet made public other key points of the possible deal that Islamabad
had reached with the militants at a recently-concluded huddle in Kabul. The end
of Islamabad's formal talks with the terrorist outfit was announced by the
Afghan Taliban spokesperson, hoping for a positive outcome.
Pakistan
had started negotiations with TTP in October last year but the process broke
down in December, triggering frequent terrorist attacks by the group from
across the Afghan border. According to thinktank Pakistan Institute of Peace
Studies, TTP has carried out 46 attacks this year, mostly against security
forces, in which 79 were killed.
In
April, the Afghan Taliban had facilitated the talks again that culminated into
a vague deal, requiring approval from parliament to become a legal document.
The secrecy surrounding the talks had prompted some progressive
parliamentarians in the ranks of PPP, a major coalition partner, to express its
reservations. The PPP even protested for not being taken on board for the
talks.
The
protests pushed the military high command to brief the national political
leadership on the issue. Last Wednesday, Peshawar Corps Commander Lt Gen Faiz
Hamid, who has been spearheading the TTP talks, and ISI director general Lt Gen
Nadeem Anjum briefed a meeting chaired by PM Shehbaz Sharif. Following the
meeting, the PM's office said all talks with TTP will be held in the ambit of
constitution. Interior minister Rana Sanaullah also assured that an in-camera
House session will be called to take lawmakers into confidence on decisions
related to national security.
Source:
Times Of India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Pakistan
political party holds protests over killing of four youth activists in North
Waziristan tribal region
25
June, 2022
Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa [Pakistan], June 25 (ANI): Pakistan political party Jamaat-e-Islami
(JI) held demonstrations in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday over
the brutal killing of four youth activists and a “conspiracy to destroy peace”
in North Waziristan tribal district area, local media reported.
Notably,
at least four volunteers of a social organisation were killed when unidentified
gunmen opened fire at their car in Pakistan’s North Waziristan district on
Sunday. All the deceased activists were part of a social organisation, the
Youth of Waziristan. The bodies were shifted to a hospital in Mirali town,
reported Dawn.
The
Youth Organisation, formed after the Zarb-i-Azb military operation, has worked
for the restoration of peace in the militancy-hit region. The organisation has
also staged a protest and sit-in against target killings.
About
two years ago security agencies took action against a sit-in organised by the
Youth of Waziristan and arrested its founding president, Noor Islam Dawar.
JI
district emir Mohammad Ajmal Khan, general secretary Dr Naser Khan, Haji Akhtar
Ali Shah and JI youth provincial deputy chief Dr Abdul Rauf Qureshi led the
demonstrations protesting the killing of the youth.
The
protesters were holding banners and they passed through different markets of
the city.
During
the demonstrations, the speakers said that Al-Khidmat Foundation president and
Youth of Waziristan activist Asadullah Dawar and his friends, including, Waqar
Ahmad Dawar, Suneed Ahmad Dawar and Ammad Dawar were murdered brutally in the
North Waziristan tribal district a few days ago, as per the media portal.
According
to the speakers the killed youth was educated and was a peace activist. While
speaking of the incident, they added that the motorcar they were travelling in
was attacked by armed motorcyclists.
Citing
a conspiracy, they claimed that the tribal youth and intellectuals are being
killed to deliberately destroy peace in the region. Furthermore, expressing
concerns over the law and order situation and incidents of targeted killing in
the tribal district, they asked the government to take the perpetrators of the
slain youth to task and provide justice, as per the media portal.
Source:
The Print
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
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PM
Shehbaz calls for security of foreign investors in Balochistan
Behram
Baloch | Saleem Shahid
June
25, 2022
GWADAR:
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the people of Gwadar to ensure security
of foreign investors who were making huge investment for the development of
Balochistan.
“China,
Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey, Qatar and other countries have been extending
financial and diplomatic help and cooperation to Pakistan for 75 years and
bailing the country out in difficult times. If we do not fulfil our
responsibility for ensuring security of their investors, engineers and workers,
they will go back,” he said while speaking at a gathering of fishermen and
other people at the Gwadar Business Centre during his day-long visit to the
port city on Friday.
The
prime minister said that during his visit to Beijing, the Chinese premier had
assured him of financial help and cooperation and an agreement was signed the
other day under which China would provide $2.3 billion in soft loan to
Pakistan, while Saudi Arabia and the UAE also extended help to the country. He
said these countries had not put any conditions for investment in Pakistan and
for developing “our agriculture, industry, energy sector”. “Unfortunately,
their engineers, workers and other people, who are helping us in development,
are being targeted.”
PM
Sharif expressed displeasure over the delay in completing the development
projects initiated five years ago in Gwadar.
Announces
provision of land for establishment of Gwadar fishermen’s colony
He
regretted that issues relating to power and water supply in Balochistan had not
been resolved for a long time. He said a contractor would start work on a 100MW
electricity project over the next couple of weeks and complete it in three
months. He said Iran had agreed to supply 100MW additional electricity during
Energy Minister Khurram Dastagir’s recent visit to Tehran.
The
prime minister said that 29km transmission lines for supply of 100MW from Iran
were delayed by the previous government, though the Iranian side had completed
the project at its end.
Referring
to the demands of fishermen, he said steps were being taken to resolve the
issues of displacement and difficulty in access to the sea that was affecting
the fisheries sector. He said the establishment of Gwadar University had been
included in the Public Sector Development Programme. Earlier, PM Sharif
witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the GDA and
Indus Hospital for establishment of a 100-bed hospital in Gwadar.
Protest
rallies
The
Gwadar rights movement, led by Maulana Hidayat-ur-Rehman, and family members of
forcibly disappeared people staged protest rallies in Gwadar when Prime
Minister Sharif was in the port city. Hundreds of people belonging to the
“Gwadar Ko Haq Do” movement and different political parties and members of
civil society gathered at Y-Chowk carrying placards and banners inscribed with
their demands.
Source:
Dawn
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.dawn.com/news/1696595/pm-shehbaz-calls-for-security-of-foreign-investors-in-balochistan
--------
Mideast
Member
of Islamic-Christian Committee: Palestinian refugees should return to their
land
June
25, 2022
Member
of the Islamic-Christian Committee in Support of Jerusalem and its Sanctuaries,
Father Manuel Musallam, on Friday hailed the sacrifices of the Palestinian
people who have been defending the Palestinian holy sites, lands, and right of
return.
Musallam
emphasized that the Palestinian struggle should be oriented toward regaining
the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.
“Palestinian
freedom fighters sacrifice their lives for the sake of returning to their
lands,” Musallam affirmed.
For
its part, the Hamas Movement had stressed its rejection of the resettlement
plans and all the attempts to erode the Palestine refugees’ right of return.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Iran,
China Vow to Broaden Mutual Cooperation
2022-June-24
During
the phone talk, the Iranian and Chinese foreign ministers explored avenues for
bolstering and reinvigorating mutual cooperation in various areas.
They
also exchanged views regional and international developments.
Amir
Abdollahian appreciated Beijing for inviting Iranian President Ebrahim Rayeesi
to attend to BRICS Conference and welcomed China’s initiative for enhanced
international development and security.
He
expressed the hope that China’s rotating presidency in BRICS will lead to the
expansion of multilateral cooperation.
The
Chinese foreign minister, for his part, welcomed President Rayeesi's decision
to attend the BRICS Conference, and said that the objective of the dialogues is
economic proximity of the developing countries.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping as the host of BRICS Summit 2022, has invited President
Rayeesi to attend the meeting and deliver a speech on Friday.
Rayeesi
will discuss the Islamic Republic's viewpoints on international issues and the
development of trade and economic cooperation with other countries at the
event, which will be held on Friday.
The
meeting will discuss "high-level talks for global development".
Iran
is the only country in West Asia region that has been invited to attend the
BRICS+ summit.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.farsnews.ir/en/news/14010403000486/Iran-China-Vw-Braden-Mal-Cperain
--------
Iran:
Afghanistan's Assets Should Be Released without Politicization
2022-June-24
Takht
Ravanchi made the remarks while addressing the United Nations Security Council
meeting on 'Situation in Afghanistan'.
"The
sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council on specific individuals and
entities in Afghanistan must not impede humanitarian, economic, or
developmental cooperation with Afghanistan," the Iranian ambassador said.
Takht
Ravanchi, meantime, called for formation of an inclusive government in
Afghanistan with the participation of all ethnic groups.
The
Iranian ambassdor reiterated that Afghanistan's assets blocked in the United
States belong to the Afghan people and their release must not be politicized.
The
following is the full text of Takht Ravanchi's speech at the UN Security
Council meeting:
Mr.
President,
I
would like to begin by expressing our heartfelt condolences to the people of
Afghanistan and families of victims of the recent earthquake in Khost,
Afghanistan. We stand with the people of Afghanistan at this difficult time and
have already dispatched two airplane shipments of humanitarian aid to the
earthquake-affected areas.
Mr.
President,
We
take note of the Secretary-General's recent report on the situation in
Afghanistan.
According
to the report, in early 2022, humanitarian needs continued to rise, with 24.4
million people, or 59 percent of the population were in need of assistance, up
from 18.4 million at the start of 2021.
As
a neighbor to Afghanistan, Iran has used its capacities and resources to help
the people of Afghanistan overcome the challenges they have faced. We have been
hosting millions of refugees who have unfortunately received minimal
international assistance in the last 40 years. The latest example of our
assistance to Afghan refugees has been the extensive vaccination against
Covid-19 of Afghans living in Iran. Neighbors of Afghanistan, including Iran,
should not feel all the burdens associated with receiving Afghan refugees.
Other countries should welcome the refugees as well.
We
support the United Nations' efforts to meet Afghanistan's expanding
humanitarian needs including the system-wide Transitional Engagement Framework
to provide basic human needs.
We
emphasize the importance of the international community's continued engagement
with Afghanistan, particularly in supporting the people's humanitarian and
development needs, and we urge the international community, particularly donor
countries, to continue to provide all possible and necessary assistance to the
Afghan people. For our part, in the course of last months, Iran has provided
more than 30 consignments of humanitarian assistance to the people of
Afghanistan.
As
we have repeatedly stated, Afghanistan's frozen assets belong to the Afghan
people, and their release, which is crucial for helping the Afghan economy and
saving lives, should not be politicized or conditional in any way. We highlight
the need for taking relevant actions, such as reopening channels of financial
and in-kind support and resources to the Afghan people, as well as exploring
real alternatives for unfreezing Afghanistan's financial assets and improving access
to lawful banking services. Similarly, sanctions imposed by the UN Security
Council on specific individuals and entities in Afghanistan must not impede
humanitarian, economic, or developmental cooperation with Afghanistan.
Mr.
President,
Attacks
claimed or attributed to Daesh or its affiliated groups have recently increased
and spread in Afghanistan. We are deeply concerned about such terrorist
activities. This trend underlines the international community's continued
demand that Taliban must commit to fighting terrorism and ensure that
Afghanistan is no longer a safe haven for terrorist groups like Daesh and
Al-Qaida that have been responsible for heinous acts of terror, not only in
Afghanistan, but throughout the region and beyond.
Equally
critical, efforts to combat drugs trafficking must be a priority. Every year,
Iran is directly affected by this menace and pays a high price for it. We
welcome Taliban's decision to outlaw all drugs. However, given the fact that
Taliban has not taken the necessary precautionary measures to confront this
year's harvest, as well as the unavailability of information on the seizure of
drugs and arrest of drug traffickers, concerns about the impact of the illegal
drug trade remain strong.
Mr.
President,
The
absolute need for the formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan,
representing the country’s multi-ethnic society, is crystal clear. The people
of Afghanistan from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, especially the
younger generation who will lead Afghanistan in the future, must be assured
that they have a say in the affairs of their country. This would not be
possible unless an inclusive government is established and sufficient attention
is paid to Afghanistan’s political and social structures that can involve
people from all walks of life including ethnicities, men, women, and youth.
Despite
repeated international calls, however, Taliban has failed to make significant
efforts to ensure the government's true ethnic and political inclusiveness.
Formation of an inclusive government in Afghanistan is a prerequisite and a
critical component for the international recognition.
The
SG’s report indicates that many of Taliban’s decisions have weakened
fundamental human rights, particularly those of women and girls. Taliban should
protect all human rights, particularly the rights of women and minorities as
well as the right to education.
We
continue to consult with Afghanistan's neighbors, as well as regional and
international partners, including the United Nations, in order to assist
Afghanistan in achieving long-term peace, security, and stability.
Source:
Fars News Agency
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Palestinian
teenager killed by Israeli forces in West Bank: Sources
25
June, 2022
A
Palestinian teenager died from his wounds hours after being shot by Israeli
soldiers in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian sources said Saturday.
Mohammed
Hamad, 16, was shot and wounded on Friday evening near the village of Silwad,
near Ramallah in the northern West Bank, and died hours later, a Silwad
councilor told AFP.
The
teenager was near a road leading to the neighboring settlement of Ofra when he
was wounded by Israeli soldiers, the councilor said.
An
Israeli army spokeswoman said dozens of Palestinians had gathered near Silwad
and that “a number of suspects hurled rocks” at passing cars, “endangering
civilians.”
“Soldiers
at the scene operated to stop the suspects in accordance with standard
operating procedures, using live fire as a last resort,” she told AFP.
A
Palestinian was hit, she added, without giving further details.
The
death comes amid a spike in Israeli-Palestinian violence.
Nineteen
people, mostly Israeli civilians - including 18 inside Israel and an Israeli
settler - have been killed in attacks by Palestinians and Israeli Arabs since
late March.
Israeli
security forces have responded with raids inside Israel and in the West Bank in
which three Israeli Arab attackers and at least 46 Palestinians have been
killed.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Donors
pledge $160 million, Palestinian refugees need more
June
25, 2022
UNITED
NATIONS: Donors pledged about $160 million for the UN agency helping
Palestinian refugees, but it still needs over $100 million to support education
for more than half a million children and provide primary health care for close
to 2 million people and emergency cash assistance to the poorest refugees, the
agency’s chief said Friday.
Briefing
reporters on the outcome of Thursday’s donor conference, Philippe Lazzarini
said the pledges when turned into cash will enable the UN Relief and Works
Agency known as UNRWA to run its operations through September. But “I do not
know if we will get the necessary cash to allow us to pay the salaries after
the month of September,” he said.
“We
are in an early warning mode,” Lazzarini said. “Right now, I’m drawing the
attention that we are in a danger zone and we have to avoid a situation where
UNRWA is pushed to cross the tipping point, because if we cross the tipping
point that means 28,000 teachers, health workers, nurses, doctors, engineers,
cannot be paid.”
UNRWA
was established to provide education, health care, food and other services to
the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the
war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948.
There
are now 5.7 million Palestinian refugees, including their children and
grandchildren, who mostly live in camps that have been transformed into built-up
but often impoverished residential areas in the Israeli-occupied West Bank,
east Jerusalem and Gaza, as well as in Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. But UNRWA
only helps the more than 500,000 in school and close to 2 million who have
health benefits.
Lazzarini
said the more than $100 million shortfall in funding for 2022 is about the same
as the shortfall that UNRWA has faced every year for almost a decade, but while
income has stagnated costs have increased.
In
past years, UNRWA has been able to absorb the shortfall through austerity and
cost control measures, he said, but today it’s not possible because there is
very little left to cut without cutting services.
“Today,
we have some classrooms with up to 50 kids,” the UNRWA commissioner-general
said. “We have a double shift in our schools. We have doctors who cannot spend
more than three minutes in medical consultation. So if we go beyond that, it
will force the agency to cut services.”
Lazzarini
said UNRWA’s problem is that “we are expected to provide government-like
services to one of the most destitute communities in the region, but we are
funded like an NGO because we depend completely on voluntary contributions.”
Funding
the agency’s services has been put at risk today because of the
“de-prioritization, or maybe increased indifference, or because of domestic
politics,” he said.
Lazzarini
said the solution to UNRWA’s chronic financial problem requires “political
will” to match the support for the agency’s work on behalf of Palestinian
refugees.
He
said UNRWA has a very strong donor base in Europe and last year the Biden
administration resumed funding which was cut by the Trump administration, but
he said the overall contribution from the Arab world has dropped to less than 3
percent of the agency’s income.
Donors
have also faced financial difficulties stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, and
now there’s a major effort to help Ukraine in its war with Russia, he said.
“We
will know better at the end of the year how much it will impact the agency,”
Lazzarini said.
Some
donors have already warned UNRWA “that we might not have the traditional top-up
at the end of the year, which would be dramatic” for the agency, he said.
Ahead
of Thursday’s donors conference, Israel’s UN Ambassador Erdan Calls on
countries to freeze contributions until all UNRWA teachers that it claims
support terrorism and murdering Jews are fired.
Source:
Arab News
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2110421/middle-east
--------
North
America
Dozens
of Senate lawmakers demand that US probe Abu Akleh’s murder
23
June 2022
A
group of 24 Democratic lawmakers with the US states’ Senate demand that
Washington investigate the last month’s shooting death of veteran
Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh.
The
request came in a letter led by Senators Chris Van Hollen (Md.) and Tammy
Baldwin (Wis.) and cosigned by 22 other Democrats, The Hill reported.
In
their letter, which was forwarded to US President Joe Biden on Thursday, the
lawmakers urged that the US State Department and FBI launch an “independent
investigation under US auspices to determine the truth” behind the murder.
“It
is clear that neither of the parties on the ground trust the other to conduct a
credible and independent investigation,” the senators wrote. “Therefore, at
this point, we believe the only way to achieve that goal is for the United
States to be directly involved in investigating Ms. Abu Akleh’s death.”
The
incident, during which the renowned Al Jazeera journalist was killed by shots
to her head, took place in the city of Jenin in the northern part of the
occupied West Bank on May 11. It sent shockwaves throughout the international
community and initiated numerous calls for accountability on the part of the
Israeli regime.
Earlier
this month, an investigation by The Washington Post negated the Israeli
military’s efforts to deflect blame for Abu Akleh’s murder, while hinting at
Tel Aviv’s bid to withhold vital evidence in the case.
The
Post published the results of the probe on June 12, citing “multiple
eyewitnesses,” reviews of numerous videos, and independent acoustic analyses of
the gunshots. The daily also examined social media posts and photos of the
event, and conducted two physical inspections of the scene.
The
Post’s probe found that at the time of the incident, the sniper was situated
about 182 meters (600 feet) away from Abu Akleh—just where an Israeli convoy
had been deployed that morning.
The
paper refuted the Israeli military’s version that claims the shots were
directed towards a Palestinian gunman, who was allegedly standing between the
Israeli forces and the journalist. It says the military has not released any
evidence pointing to the presence of a gunman.
The
Israeli military is also sitting on tons of evidence, including footage from
drones and body cameras, the paper noted.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2022/06/23/684431/United-States-Senators-probe-Abu-Akleh-s-death
--------
End
of US era in Latin America ‘approaching’
June
25, 2022
The
continuous serial political developments in Latin America indicate that
countries of the region have become a major obstacle in the path of the policy
of unilateralism by the United States.
The
continuous and serial political developments in Latin America indicate that
countries of this region, which have always been considered the backyard of the
United States, have become a major obstacle in the path of the policy of
unilateralism by the United States.
Some
series of developments are underway in Latin America that their significance
and impacts on the global equation are no less than the Ukraine war and Taiwan
conflict.
The
results of the counting of votes in the second round of Colombian Presidential
Election show that "Gustavo Francisco Petro", the candidate of the
left-wing party, has won the final election. This is the first victory of a
candidate from left-wing party in the Colombian Presidential Election.
The
victory of the left-wing party in Colombian Presidential Election comes as the
US President Joe Biden said a few months ago during a visit of Colombian
President Iván Duque at the White House that he wanted to identify Colombia as
a "key non-NATO ally”.
The
decision was an important step in "benefiting" the Latin American
country from "defense, trade and security cooperation" with the
United States that now with the left-wing party assumed power in this country,
“We should expect change of approach by the United States.”
The
direct relationship between events similar to the results of the Colombian
Presidential Election, which is associated with the downgrade of the US status
in Latin America as well as its direct impact on limiting continuation of
unilateralist policy by the United States, is an issue that has been turned into
an important challenge for Washington. The significance of this issue becomes
more apparent when special attention is paid to the costly strategy of the
United States over the previous years to keep Latin American countries as
Washington's backyard.
The
results of Colombian Presidential Election indicate the fact that the United
States has suffered a heavy political defeat on its own continent.
The
development of Venezuela's strategic relationship with Iran, which has recently
deepened and strengthened with the recent visit of Venezuelan President Nicola
Maduro to Tehran, is also considered by Western political experts as another
defeat for the United States.
Washington,
which is deeply concerned about the decline of its power in Latin America,
tried to form a new grouping in mid-June without inviting Nicaragua, Venezuela
and Cuba to the Ninth Summit of Americas in Los Angeles.
The
US move provoked widespread reactions that member states in the American and
Caribbean Community (Celac) meeting in Argentina announced that the meeting
would be held by countries that have not been invited by the US to the Summit.
The 10 so-called “Alba Bloc” also issued a statement and condemned the
expulsion and discriminatory behavior of the United States at the Ninth Summit
of Americas in Los Angeles.
Source:
ABNA24
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Africa
Mali’s
army says 50 extremists ‘neutralized’
25
June, 2022
Mali’s
army said it had “neutralized” 50 extremists in an area in the center of the
country where more than 130 civilians were killed a week ago.
The
government blamed al-Qaeda-affiliated extremists for the massacre of civilians
in Diallassagou and two neighboring villages last weekend, the latest mass
killings in the Sahel region.
“Fifty
(extremists were) neutralized” in the Diallassougou area where “the operational
priorities were directed following the terrorist attack against the populations
on the night of June 18 to 19,” the army said in a press release late Friday.
The
army also reported “two terrorist watchmen neutralized” in the central Mondoro
area, in addition to “eight terrorist suspects arrested” in the south of the
country during a separate operation.
The
government has blamed al-Qaeda-affiliated Macina Katiba extremists for the
killings of 132 civilians in the Diallassagou area in central Mali, one of the
hotbeds of the violence that has plagued the Sahel for years.
The
group denied carrying out the massacre in a statement, the SITE Intelligence
monitoring group said Friday.
The
Diallassagou bloodshed is one of the worst civilian killings Mali has seen in
recent years.
The
Sahel country has since 2012 been rocked by extremist insurgencies.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/06/25/Mali-s-army-says-50-extremists-neutralized-
--------
Jordan’s
king says he supports Middle East military alliance similar to NATO
24
June, 2022
Jordan’s
King Abdullah II said Friday that he supports a military alliance in the Middle
East similar to the Western-led NATO.
Speaking
to CNBC, King Abdullah said that the charter of such an alliance would need to
be very clear.
“I
would be one of the first people that would endorse a Middle East NATO, but the
linkages to the rest of the world and how we fit in… has to be very, very
clear. Otherwise, it confuses everybody,” he said.
Closer
cooperation on the military front between Arab countries and Israel has been
pushed by the US for several years as a way of confronting Iran and its malign
activity.
Recently,
US lawmakers introduced a bill in the Senate and in Congress calling for a plan
to integrate Middle East air defenses in the face of Iran.
And
Israeli officials have said there is air-defense cooperation with unnamed Arab
countries and the US, which he claimed had already foiled Iranian attacks on
the region.
US
President Joe Biden is scheduled to make his first visit to the Middle East
next month, with stops in Saudi Arabia, the West Bank and Israel.
Iran
and warming ties between Arab countries and Israel figure to be high on his
agenda. The common threat of Iran, coupled with the Abraham Accords, signed
under the Trump administration between the UAE, Bahrain and Israel, has drawn
Arab countries and Israel closer in recent years.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Tunisia’s
interior ministry confirms threats to President Saied’s life, foils attack
24
June, 2022
Tunisia’s
interior ministry said on Friday it had information about serious threats to
the life of the president and that it had foiled what it called a separate
terrorist attack, adding to security concerns as the country faces a political
crisis.
The
ministry said both internal and external elements were involved in plans
targeting the president. Spokesperson Fadhila Khelifi said in a news conference
that “the goal was to undermine Tunisian public security.”
In
what the ministry said was a separate incident, an attacker was arrested after
injuring two police after targeting them overnight “at a sensitive point in the
capital,” said Faker Bouzghaya, head of communications for the ministry.
President
Kais Saied’s is preparing a new constitution that he plans to put to a
referendum next month.
Opposition
to Saied’s moves has broadened over recent months as nearly all major political
parties as well as the labor union have come out against his plans, holding
street rallies against him.
However,
while critics of the president say his moves have raised concerns over rights
and freedoms won in the 2011 revolution that brought democracy, there has been
no widespread crackdown on the opposition or wave of arrests.
Source:
Al Arabiya
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Hundreds
of migrants storm border separating Spain’s Melilla enclave from Morocco
24
June, 2022
Hundreds
of migrants stormed the border separating Spain’s Melilla enclave from Morocco
on Friday, the first such attempted mass crossing into the territory since the
two nations mended diplomatic ties in March.
Melilla
and Ceuta, Spain’s other tiny North African enclave, have the European Union’s
only land borders with Africa, making them a magnet for migrants.
A
group of over 400 migrants stormed the border fence at 8:40 a.m. Friday and a
“significant number” managed to get in, the Spanish government’s local
delegation said in a statement.
The
migrants, from sub-Saharan Africa, were “perfectly organized and violent” it
added.
Morocco
deployed a “large” amount of forces to try to repel the assault on the border,
who “cooperated actively” with Spain’s security forces. the statement added.
In
March this year, Spain ended a year-long diplomatic crisis by backing Morocco’s
autonomy plan for Western Sahara, going back on its decades-long stance of neutrality.
Spanish
Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez then visited Rabat, and the two governments hailed
a “new stage” in relations.
The
row began when Madrid allowed Brahim Ghali, leader of Western Sahrara’s
pro-independence Polisario Front, to be treated for COVID-19 in a Spanish
hospital in April 2021.
A
month later, some 10,000 migrants surged across the Moroccan border into
Spain’s Ceuta enclave as border guards looked the other way, in what was widely
seen as a punitive gesture by Rabat.
Rabat
calls for the Western Sahara to have an autonomous status under Moroccan
sovereignty, but the Polisario wants a UN-supervised referendum on
self-determination as agreed in a 1991 ceasefire agreement.
Over
the years, thousands of migrants have attempted to cross the 12-kilometer
(7.5-mile) border between Melilla and Morocco, or Ceuta’s eight-kilometer
border, by climbing the fences, swimming along the coast or hiding in vehicles.
The
two territories are protected by fences fortified with barbed wire, video
cameras and watchtowers.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
UN
rights chief calls for impartial probe into Ethiopia mass killings
24
June 2022
The
UN rights chief on Thursday called on the Ethiopian authorities to conduct
"prompt, impartial and thorough" investigations into weekend attacks
in the west of the country that have killed hundreds of people.
"I
am horrified by the senseless killing as well as the forced displacement of the
local population in the attack on Tole village," Michelle Bachelet said in
a statement.
She
said her staff had spoken with witnesses to the June 18 attack in the Oromia
region who said armed individuals descended on Tole and began shooting
randomly, leaving hundreds dead.
Most
of the victims were women and children, the statement said, adding that at
least 2,000 other people had been forced to flee their homes.
"The
armed individuals also reportedly burned down several houses during the
four-hour assault," it said.
Ethiopia's
parliament also instructed Thursday the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, a
state-affiliated independent body, to investigate the killings which it said
were carried out by the Oromo Liberation Army.
"A
terrible and inhumane atrocity has been committed by the (OLA) on innocent
citizens" in parts of Oromia and the neighboring Gambella region, it said.
Survivors
of the Tole attack told AFP that hundreds of people belonging to the Amhara
ethnic group were killed by rebels, with bodies still lying on the streets
after hours of violence.
The
Oromia regional authorities have also blamed the attack on the OLA, which is
branded a terrorist organization by the Ethiopian government.
But
a spokesman for the rebel group blamed the region's pro-government militia for
the killings and called for an independent investigation.
"I
call on the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that investigations are promptly
launched into the attack and to ensure that victims and their families have a
right to truth, justice, and reparations, including by holding those
responsible to account," Bachelet said.
She
also said an unspecified number of people were reported to have been abducted
during the attack and that their whereabouts remained unknown.
"I
call on the authorities to take all necessary and lawful measures to ensure
those abducted regain their freedom," Bachelet said.
Source:
Press TV
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Europe
Oslo
shooting suspect is a Norwegian of Iranian descent: Police
25
June, 2022
The
suspect whom police have arrested following deadly shootings in Oslo overnight
is a Norwegian of Iranian descent, police said on Saturday.
The
man was known to domestic intelligence services and had had brushes with the
law for minor infractions like knife and drug possession, police told a press
conference, without naming the suspect.
Source:
Al Arabiya
Please
click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
--------
Investigation
in Sweden related to YPG/PKK terror group ends over 'lack of evidence'
Atila
Altuntas
24.06.2022
STOCKHOLM
Sweden
on Friday ended investigation on social media posts that showed pictures of the
YPG/PKK terror organization’s so-called flag and its convicted ringleader,
Abdullah Ocalan, that were projected on public buildings in the capital.
According
to state radio, police claimed there is a lack of evidence to proceed with the
investigation.
Last
week, social media accounts linked to the PKK, and its Syrian offshoot YPG,
shared images showing the organization's so-called flag and its leader’s
picture projected on the historic City Hall and Globen Avicii Arena Sports
Hall.
Following
reactions by Türkiye’s Ambassador to Sweden Hakki Emre Yunt and others to the
propaganda activities of the terrorists, Stockholm Municipality had filed a
criminal complaint.
Sweden
and Finland formally applied to join NATO last month, a decision spurred by
Russia's war on Ukraine that began on Feb. 24.
But
Türkiye, a longstanding member of the alliance, has voiced objections to the
membership bids, criticizing the countries for tolerating and even supporting
terrorist groups.
Source:
Anadolu Agency
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South
Asia
One
of Taliban commanders joined Ahmad Massoud’s forces
June
25, 2022
Qari
Waqas, commander of the Taliban Red Unit in Tagab district, Badakhshan
province, joined Ahmad Massoud’s forces, along with 300 forces under his command.
Seven
Taliban members were killed and wounded in a clash between forces under the
command of Qari Waqas, the Pashtun Tajik commander of the Badakhshan Red Unit
in Tagab.
After
the clash, Qari Waqas, along with more than 300 members his forces, separated
from the Taliban and joined the National Resistance Front (under the command of
Ahmad Massoud).
Following
the clashes with the central Taliban militants, Qari Waqas has managed to
control parts of Tagab district, including Khumbak, Kuri and Katubala areas.
Source:
ABNA24
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Thousands
of quake survivors without food, shelter in Afghanistan
June
25, 2022
GAYAN:
Aid trickled to devastated villages in remote parts of Afghanistan on Friday
but thousands of people remain without food, shelter and water three days after
the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades.
Wednesday’s
5.9-magnitude quake struck hardest in the rugged east along the border with
Pakistan while people slept, killing more than 1,000 and leaving thousands
homeless.
Entire
villages have been levelled in some of the worst affected districts, where
survivors said they were even struggling to find equipment to bury their dead.
“There
are no blankets, tents... there’s no shelter. Our entire water distribution
system is destroyed. There is literally nothing to eat,” 21-year-old Zaitullah
Ghurziwal told an AFP team that reached his village in hard-hit Paktika
province.
The
area was still being roiled by aftershocks that were sending frightened locals
scurrying from whatever shelter they had sought in badly damaged dwellings.
One
aftershock early Friday killed five people, according to Maqbool Luqmanzai,
director of health in Gayan district.
Aid
was starting to trickle through in some areas. AFP saw seven trucks from the
United Nations World Food Programme trundle into the village of Wuchkai on
Friday morning, 24 hours after leaving Kabul, to distribute tents and
emergency rations.
Two
Doctors Without Borders trucks also arrived with medical supplies.
Mohammad
Amin Huzaifa, head of information for Paktika province, said heavy rain and
floods were hampering efforts to reach those affected.
Communications
have also been hit as the quake toppled mobile phone towers and power lines.
The earthquake struck areas already suffering the effects of heavy rain,
causing rockfalls and mudslides that wiped out hamlets perched precariously on
mountain slopes.
Officials
say nearly 10,000 houses were destroyed, an alarming number in an area where
the average household size is more than 20 people.
“Seven
in one room, five in the other room, four in another, and three in another have
been killed in my family,” Bibi Hawa said on a hospital bed in the Paktika
capital Sharan.
At
Wuchkai, a cemetery on a rise overlooking the village had 11 fresh graves — all
members of the same family. Save the Children said more than 118,000 children
were impacted by the disaster.
“Many
children are now most likely without clean drinking water, food and a safe
place to sleep,” the international charity said.
UN
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the global agency has “fully mobilised”
to help. According to his office, refugee agency UNHCR has dispatched tents,
blankets and plastic sheeting; the World Food Programme has delivered food stocks
for about 14,000; and the World Health Organisation has provided 10 tonnes of
medical supplies sufficient for 5,400 surgeries.
Iftikhar
A. Khan adds from Islamabad: Pakistan on Friday dispatched second tranche of
relief assistance for earthquake-hit Afghanistan.
Minister
for States and Frontier Region Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood handed over the
humanitarian assistance to Sardar Muhammad Shakeeb, charge d’affaires of
Afghanistan, during a ceremony at Nur Khan Airbase, Rawalpindi.
The
ceremony was attended by NDMA chairman Lt Gen Akhter Nawaz and officials of
NDMA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The
consignment arranged by NDMA consists of family tents and essential food items,
which were dispatched through a PAF C130 aircraft.
The
minister said Pakistan will continue to support Afghans during the humanitarian
crisis. He said relevant authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NDMA
and other departments were in close contact with the Afghan authorities for the
transportation of relief goods.
Afghan
Charge d’affaires thanked the Pakistani government for sending humanitarian
assistance promptly.
Source:
Dawn
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https://www.dawn.com/news/1696581/thousands-of-quake-survivors-without-food-shelter-in-afghanistan
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UNSC
Discusses Afghanistan Ongoing Humanitarian, Political Crisis
By
Arif Ahmadi
25
Jun 2022
KABUL,
Afghanistan – The UN Security Council held a session to discuss ongoing
situation in Afghanistan, calling attention to the devastating earthquake,
restrictions on Afghan women and girls, human rights issues, and other
political crisis since the fall of republic government last August.
Earlier
on Thursday, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA)
announced the UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will present its report
on “the situation in Afghanistan and its implications for international peace
and security.”
Ramiz
Alakbarov, UNAMA acting head, called for concerted international support for a
swift humanitarian response to the devastating earthquake in Afghanistan that
claimed over 1,000 lives and injured more than 1,500 others locals.
“Humanitarian
actors mobilized an immediate response, dispatching ambulances, medical
equipment, trauma kits, medicine, mobile health teams and emergency supplies
including tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and food assistance,” he said, as
TOLOnews quoted.
Addressing
the ever-increasing restrictions against Afghan women and girls, Alakbarov said
the de facto authorities have increasingly limited the exercise of basic human
rights, such as freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of opinion and
expression, quelling dissent and restricting civic space in the country.
“These
include most prominently the ban on secondary schooling for girls and the
decision to impose face covering on women, on which you have been briefed in
detail by former Special Representative of the Secretary-General Deborah
Lyons,” he added.
Despite
the rumors and ongoing allegations of killings, ill-treatment and violations
targeting individuals associated with the former government, Alakbarov said
UNAMA will remain in Afghanistan to safeguard the rights of Afghans, including
the rights of women and girls.
Meanwhile,
an international correspondent Yalda Hakim – who also attended the Security
Council Meeting talked about the restrictions against Afghan women under the
Islamic Emirate rule, exclaiming it has been 279 days since the Taliban banned
teenage girls from school.
“Afghanistan
is now the only country in the world where girls are prevented from getting an
education, locked out of their classrooms, simply because of their gender.
Education is not a privilege, but a basic human right,” Yalda said.
Martin
Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency
Relief Coordinator, via a teleconference pointed to the dramatic change in
Afghanistan’s political and economic areas after the collapse, saying 25
million people in Afghanistan are now living in poverty — more than double from
2011.
“Today,
the average household spends three quarters of its income on food,” he said,
stressing that 19 million people — nearly half the population — are food
insecure, including 6.6 million at emergency levels, the highest number of any
country in the world.”
Afghanistan’s
representative Naseer A. Faiq said earning legitimacy requires winning the
minds and hearts of all Afghans, and Afghan people were hoping to see changes
in the policies of the de facto authorities in the last 10 months.
“This
has been far from realized,” he said, citing the Islamic Emirate inflexible
attitude towards creating an accountable national government staffed by
professional women and minorities.
To
prevent Afghanistan from becoming a pariah state, Faiq called for a national
dialogue among all Afghans, organized and facilitated by the United Nations,
including representatives of the Islamic Emirate and opposition groups.
The
United Kingdom representative at the UNSC hearing said the humanitarian and
economic situation remains critical in Afghanistan. “Women and girls in
Afghanistan are facing unacceptable restrictions on their freedom of movement
and dress as well as access to education, jobs and services,” as local media
reported.
Furthermore,
the United States representative at the UNSC hearing said the Islamic Emirate
must reverse its actions regarding women if they want a normalized relationship
with the international community.
Source:
Khaama Press
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.khaama.com/unsc-discusses-afghanistan-ongoing-humanitarian-political-crisis/
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Taliban
thank Pakistan, other friendly countries for helping quake-hit Afghanistan
June
24, 2022
Taliban
Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani on Friday thanked Pakistan, UAE, India and
other friendly countries and aid organisations for helping the people of
Afghanistan hit by the recent deadly earthquake.
In
an official statement, the interim government’s interior minister said
earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and other natural disasters are a test from the
Almighty.
“We
too are enduring this ordeal like the other hardships in the past. We are
patient and stand with our people. We will always remember those who gave us
their helping hand in the difficult time.”
Haqqani
also thanked the humanitarian organisations and philanthropists “from the
bottom of our heart who have helped the earthquake victims in Paktika and Khost
provinces and sent messages of condolences”.
“We
pray for such a safe and secure world in which all the people live in relief
and dignity,” the statement quoted him as saying.
Afghanistan
lacks the medical supplies to treat those injured in an earthquake that killed
more than 1,000 people this week, a senior official said, as an aftershock on
Friday killed five more.
Authorities
earlier ended a search in remote southeastern mountains for survivors of the
6.1 magnitude earthquake that struck early on Wednesday near the Pakistani
border, about 160km southeast of Kabul, the capital.
Also
read: Afghanistan seeks emergency medical supplies for earthquake survivors
About
2,000 people were injured and 10,000 homes partially or entirely destroyed in
Wednesday's earthquake, Mohammad Nassim Haqqani, a spokesperson for
Afghanistan's disaster ministry, told Reuters.
The
disaster is a major test for the country’s rulers, who have been largely
isolated, shunned by many because of concerns over human rights and cut off
from much direct international assistance because of sanctions.
On
Thursday, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates all said they
planned to send aid. Supplies from Pakistan have already crossed the border.
India,
which has strained ties with the Taliban, said it had sent 27 tonnes of
supplies on two flights to be handed to international aid agencies.
Source:
Tribune Pakistan
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India
takes baby steps to dealing with Taliban
Anita
Joshua
25.06.22
India
on Thursday operationalised its embassy in Kabul in a limited manner by
deploying a “technical team” to monitor and coordinate the delivery of
humanitarian assistance.
New
Delhi has also stepped in to provide relief to the earthquake-hit Paktika in
northeastern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border.
Two
consignments of assistance have been flown into Afghanistan — the first on an
IAF plane which also ferried the “technical team” on Thursday and the second on
the Afghan commercial carrier, Kam Air, on Friday.
The
Indian decision to send a technical team to Kabul comes less than a week after
the June 18 attack on the Karte Parwan gurdwara, allegedly by the Islamic State
in retaliation to the denigration of the Prophet by then BJP spokespersons.
New
Delhi had pulled out all Indian staff from its Kabul embassy in mid-August last
year following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
Announcing
the deployment late on Thursday evening, the external affairs ministry said:
“In order to closely monitor and coordinate the efforts of various stakeholders
for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance and in continuation of
our engagement with the Afghan people, an Indian technical team has reached
Kabul today and has been deployed in our embassy there.”
On
June 2, India had sent its first team to Kabul under an MEA joint secretary to
assess the state of Indian projects in the country and speak to the Taliban
leadership.
Joint
secretary J.P. Singh met Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, acting foreign minister,
and visited some Indian projects besides the mission in Kabul, which had kept
running with local staff who also assisted with delivery of the humanitarian
assistance India had sent over the past few months.
Despite
the visible contacts with the Taliban leadership and putting a team at the
embassy, India has not committed itself to recognising the outlawed group in
control of Afghanistan.
However,
given the huge investments India has made in the country for over a decade now,
allowing the vacuum to grow is also not something India can afford,
particularly considering Pakistan’s interests and China’s footprint in the
country.
Both
India and Pakistan have been quick to come to Afghanistan’s aid after
Wednesday’s earthquake. In a tweet quoting the ministry’s announcement of aid
to Afghanistan, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said: “India, a true
first responder.”
Source:
Telegraph India
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click the following URL to read the full text of the original story:
https://www.telegraphindia.com/india/india-takes-baby-steps-to-dealing-with-taliban/cid/1871736
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Southeast
Asia
Indonesian
police arrest six for 'blasphemy' over bar promotion
Jun
25, 2022
JAKARTA:
Indonesian police arrested six people on charges of blasphemy over a bar
chain's free alcohol promotion for patrons named Mohammed, officials said late
on Friday, in a case that has sparked outrage in the Muslim-majority country.
In
a now-deleted social media post, the Holywings bar had offered a free bottle of
gin for men named Mohammed and women named Maria -- a popular figure in the
Bible -- every Thursday if they presented their ID cards.
Alcohol
is considered forbidden under Islamic law and while drinking is not prohibited
for any religion in the secular country's bars, the act itself is frowned upon
by conservative Muslims.
The
post caused fury online, and several youth organisations reported the
management to police for allegedly committing blasphemy, while other groups
threatened to raid the bar chain's locations.
Late
on Friday, police presented six suspects, including Holywings' creative
director and the head of its promotional team, during a televised press
conference.
"Six
people have been named suspects and they all work for the company," South
Jakarta police chief Budhi Herdi Susianto said.
All
six were dressed in the orange shirt usually worn by criminal offenders in
Indonesia, with their faces covered.
"The
suspects made the content to attract customers to their outlets, especially
those making less than 60 percent of their sales targets," Susianto said.
The
group was charged with multiple offences, including blasphemy and spreading
religious hatred, the police said, and could face up to 10 years in prison if
found guilty.
Source:
Times Of India
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Motac
targets 900,000 Muslim tourists to Malaysia this year, says minister
24
Jun 2022
PUTRAJAYA,
June 24 — The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (Motac) is targeting the
arrival of 900,000 Muslim tourists to Malaysia this year, said its minister
Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri.
She
said this could be achieved by aggressively and proactively promoting Malaysia
as a Muslim-friendly tourist destination at the national and international
levels.
“After
the country’s borders were reopened on April 1, Motac has held a series of
working visits to promote Malaysia’s tourism products including Islamic tourism
abroad.
“Apart
from that, Motac will identify additional activities that can be carried out at
6,000 mosques nationwide as an added value to existing promotions,” she told a
press conference after launching the 2022 Islamic Tourism Week organised by the
Islamic Tourism Centre (ITC) here today.
As
of April, a total of 460,000 Muslim tourists were reported to have arrived in
the country. Malaysia is targeting the arrival of 230 million Muslim tourists
by 2028 with projected revenue of US$225 billion (RM990 billion).
Nancy
said with Muslims forming the majority of the country’s population, the
availability of Muslim-friendly facilities was among the factors attracting
Muslim tourists to visit Malaysia.
“Muslim
tourists also do not have to doubt the status of halal food in our country,”
she said.
She
also said that Malaysia once again topped the list of Muslim-friendly tourism
destinations based on the recent MasterCard-Crescent Rating Global Muslim
Travel Index (GMTI) 2021, thus boosting tourists’ confidence in this country.
“This
proves that Malaysia is on the right track and has a suitable ecosystem that
can meet the needs of Muslim tourists,” she said.
Source:
Malay Mail
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Malaysia
running on empty, seeking a Jokowi
Joe
Samad
June
25, 2022
Judging
by social media postings, most Malaysians seem to be in adoration of Indonesian
President Joko Widodo, more familiarly known as Jokowi.
People
admire his humility, grace and leadership of the 270 million people he
represents. There are so many positive postings, showing how close he is to his
people and the heartbeat of the nation.
His
stature has grown so much on the international stage that the foreign ministry
has announced that Jokowi will meet leaders of Ukraine and Russia next week to
advocate for peace and try to help ease a global food crisis, the first such
trip by an Asian leader.
In
Malaysia, we are running on empty. Running out of ideas, and with their backs
to the wall, our leaders are putting forward incomprehensible proposals.
Daft
ideas and proposals
Former
minister for tourism, arts and culture, Nazri Aziz, suggested there is a potential
for the annual floods in the country to become a “tourism attraction”. You can
see cars floating by, people at wits end on rooftops waiting to be rescued,
houses and property destroyed. Sure, why not.
Defence
minister Hishammuddin Hussein is looking at setting up vegetable gardens in
army camps throughout the country amid rising prices and to ensure food
sustainability. The defence ministry’s national security role now includes food
security which is highly admirable. The sprawling army base in each state can
now grow food to feed the army.
With
the army going to take care of the nation’s food security, who will protect the
nation from its enemies?
Ministerial
shambles
The
minister for Sabah and Sarawak affairs has gone to the London Archives to scour
documents related to the Malaysia Agreement 1963. Critics have panned his trip
as a holiday at taxpayers expense. Any findings would be useful only if Sabah
plans to exit from Malaysia.
Otherwise
get back to the negotiating table over Sabah’s oil rights, tax revenue, and
autonomy.
Bersatu
president Muhyiddin Yassin suggests that Putrajaya “create another ministry”
for former party member Zuraida Kamaruddin. Critics say Muhyiddin is only
interested in “creating a new ministry” as a shortcut in handling the power
struggle between Umno and the Bersatu-led Perikatan Nasional coalition.
Malaysia
already has a bloated number of ministries and civil servants: the suggestion
of a new ministry will add to the increasing cost of running a government.
Political appeasement is the Malaysian way of buying loyalty or to keep
someone’s trap shut.
Carrot
and stick over use of Malay
The
Malay language has not been spared by the “brains” in the government. Fresh
from failing to make Malay the lingua franca of the Asean nations, the chief
secretary to the government, Zuki Ali, taking up where Prime Minister Ismail
Sabri Yaakob left off, has urged the Public Service Department to consider
corrective and punitive action to enforce the use of Malay in the civil service
and even government companies.
Now
Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka (DBP) wants to implement stricter laws to enforce the
use of the Malay language. Its chairman, Awang Sariyan, said enforcement is
important to preserve and strengthen Malay as the national language as it is
closely related to the country’s identity.
Awang
Sariyan said the enculturation of the national language simply using the
“dakwah” approach through the reprimand and advice as provided under the law
must be changed in order for the DBP to have a source of power against those
who did not respect the language.
Restoring
ethnic honour
The
mention of Malay dignity and identity is interesting. We should not forget that
a controversial Malay dignity congress was held in October 2019 to lift and
protect Malay pride, but which has now been turned into shambles.
The
daily parade of Malay leaders being convicted or being charged in court with
corruption has dented Malay pride. We read about bags of money delivered to
politicians’ houses in the late hours of the night and claims of money being
shared among senior political leaders.
A
sultan’s command over a festival is being challenged by a Muslim political
party (PAS). The Kongres Maruah Melayu was supposed to protect the sanctity of
the rulers.
Dignity
of the rulers
Any
fuss about the erosion of Malay dignity should revolve around corruption and
the dignity of the sultans they were supposed to protect. Corruption has no
language barrier and has dented the Maruah Melayu.
Enforcement
through higher punishment will not deter crimes. That was PAS’ resolution
through RUU355. Religion and the fear of god is never a deterrent. There is no
science to say that there will be zero crimes, even when punishments are
increased.
Capital
punishment will no longer be mandatory for some offences in Malaysia,
consistent with Malaysia becoming a humane society. Senior civil servants
encouraging heavier punishment are out of sync with the advancement of a humane
society.
Source:
Free Malaysia Today
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